The Kart Crash Mystery 2
by Bowser Jr. Nutt
Summary: It has been one month after the crash that nearly cost a racer his life. Now, another crash has happened under strange circumstances, and odd things are happening to the racers. A mystery even bigger than the original, Please Review! Chapter 6 Up!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

It is the Kart racing season in the Mushroom Kingdom. This event is a well loved spectacle of all races and nationalities, all of whom have come to see who would win the coveted Kart Race Cup. The horrible crash and the adventures the racers followed was only a month ago, and all the racers are now well enough to once again ride the road. It is currently the last race of the day, and it is an eight-way tie between all of the racers. Mario and his brother Luigi eventually pull away from the other racers, and are about to cross the finish line. Suddenly, a terrible laughter filled the entire stadium, and then blackness…

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	2. Deja Vu

**Déjà Vu**

Mario awoke to a familiar setting. He was in a white room, with a sterile smell and the sound of a heart monitor flickering. This filled him with a sense of growing dread and disbelief. He was back in the hospital, the same hospital that he and his friends had been in less than a month ago. Mario then realized his own situation. He had a few stitches in on his arms and legs, and suddenly became aware that he was experiencing severe vertigo. A pianta nurse, perhaps the same one who saw him in his recovery not so long ago, entered his room.

"Well, well, well," the nurse mused "You just can't stay away from here, can you?"

Mario lifted his head to look at the nurse.

"How is…"

"Don't worry. We've checked most of the other racers already, and so far nothing serious has come up."

Mario looked away and nodded slowly, and then turned again to the nurse.

"Am _I _okay?" Mario asked wearily.

"Aside from a few stitches and a bit of a bump on the head, your just fine. Your actually well enough to see your friends, if you like."

Mario nodded once again and slowly and wobbly got out of the hospital bed.

"Just be careful, okay hon? I wouldn't want to have to perform a hat-trick surgery on you," the nurse said slyly.

"Yes-a, thank you ma'am." Mario replied.

Mario slowly made his way out of the room, when the nurse interrupted him.

"Ah, yes, there is one thing I have forgot. Your fire-making abilities haven't seemed to have recovered quite yet, so don't stress yourself if you can't produce a flame."

Mario nodded and made his way into the hospital's hallway. He immediately saw DK, Yoshi, his brother, and, much to his dread, Wario. All had some form of injury on them, but none of them very serious.

"Mario!", his brother cried.

The two hugged. It was a different sort of greeting from the greeting he got a month ago from his brother. Back then, he was just glad to see Luigi was alright. Now it felt scary. Mario felt like someone who had just been hit by lightning twice. He could easily tell that the others felt this way as well. Luigi looked at his brother.

"Glad to see your-a alright-a!", Luigi said.

"I'm glad to see your-a alright-a as well!" Mario said warmly.

"_Glad to see your all right" _Wario mimicked mockingly.

Regardless of how weird the situation felt, he _was _still glad to see that his brother was alright. Yoshi approached him.

"Good to see your alright Mario."

"Thanks-a Yoshi."

Yoshi nodded and looked around nervously.

"This is weird. I can't believe this happened again…"

"Yes, I've-a been thinking the same thing-a," Mario said gravely, "How is everyone else-a?"

Yoshi scratched his head.

"Well…"

Just then, Peach, Toad, Daisy, Birdo, and the majority of the other racers showed up.

"Mario! Your okay!" Peach cried

"Mr. Mario, how are you?" Toad asked in a respective, almost admiring tone.

Mario smiled and nodded, again noticing that no one seemed seriously hurt.

"Yes, I am-a fine."

Peach looked relieved. All of the other racers, however, seemed restless. There was a long and awkward silence.

"It feels pretty weird, huh?", DK cut in.

"Yes, I'm still not even entirely sure what exactly happened." Daisy replied.

" Feels all wrong, that's what", Toadette replied.

Even the babies seemed to notice the denseness of the room.

" Uncle Wuigi, aww you okay?" Baby Luigi asked uncertainly.

"Yes, babies, we're-a just trying to get a few things-a straitened out, that's all ", Luigi replied.

Mario looked up. He realized that not all of the racers were present.

"Is everyone okay?" Mario asked with a sudden sense of déjà vu.

Peach thought about this for a moment.

"Well, I'm pretty sure we've checked everyone. Well, except Bowser and…his…son…"

A horrible dread spread over the racers. Was this really history repeating its self? The racers hurried as fast as they could to the dorm where Bowser and Bowser Jr. supposedly were staying. As they approached the door, they noticed that Bowser was standing outside the door. Another sign, and the sense of dread in the racers deepened. They ran passed a surprised looking Bowser and entered opened the door. From in the room, Bowser Morton Koopa Junior stared back at the racers with a quizzical look.

"Knock much?", the koopa prince asked sarcastically.

His arm was in a sling, and had a few stitches above his eyebrow, but that was it. Bowser Junior was not in the critical condition he was in a month ago. He was not laboring in breath or severely injured, and he certainly didn't look like someone who only had a ten percent chance of survival, like he was the previous month.

"Ahem."

The racers spun around to see an annoyed Bowser staring down at them. He, like his son, also had a few stitches above his eyebrow, and had some bandages wrapped around his torso.

" What are you doing?"

"Uh, well, we thought that Junior…" Diddy trailed off. He froze under Bowser's cold stare and dared not say anymore.

Bowser Junior gave a small chuckle.

" Lighting doesn't strike the same place twice." Bowser Junior retorted, to which his father nodded.

Bowser scanned the faces of the racers, and could tell why they were all here.

" Why would you think that my son was as hurt as he was last time? Don't you think I'd tell you if he was dying? " Bowser asked with growing annoyance at this awkward situation.

"Well," the green shelled Koopa replied, "You didn't tell us he was dying before, and he was. So we just assumed…"

His voice trailed off from under Bowser's crimson eyes, which were still showed growing signs of annoyance. Daisy, who was one of the few people who was never intimidated by Bowser's presence, spoke up.

" Well, why weren't you in his room? You guys always room together, except when one of you is in surgery."

Bowser grinned devilishly at this.

"Because there's a bunch of hot nurses around here. _Really _hot nurses. You think I'd give up one of the few opportunities I'm going to have in my life to hit on someone other than Peach?", Bowser replied.

The girls blushed feverishly at this, but Yoshi and a few other males gave Bowser the thumbs up, in which Bowser discretely returned, much to his son's amusement.

" We're sorry if we seemed rash," Birdo said apologetically.

" Yeah, well it's bad enough dealing with the press, let alone the biggest bunch of losers I've ever seen hanging around", Bowser paused, " But I can't blame you. That was my first thought when I realized we were in a crash too. I am grateful that you would care so much…Just don't expect me to do the same thing to you."

The racers nodded and started to go into a conversation.

" So, does anybody know what happened?" Diddy asked.

" No. None of my doctors or nurses know the story", Yoshi replied, "All they know is that we were in another crash."

"Well, a lot of help they are." Toadette remarked in a frustrated tone.

Bowser clicked a remote next to his son's bed and the television came on.

"Maybe the press knows something." Bowser said.

The screen showed a Koopa in an anchorman uniform behind the wrecked remains of their Karts.

"Our story here is that yet another major crash has happened here at the Mushroom Kingdom Kart Stadium. This crash has occurred only about a month after the terrible crash reported last June.", the reporter paused and went on, " Last month's crash was a major event in which the heir to the Koopa Clan, Bowser Morton Koopa Junior, was nearly killed in, but has since made a recovery. The crash that month was later found to be caused by camera manager Latiku as an act of revenge for not being able to join the tournament, and revealed that the crash was directed at the koopa prince. The cause of the current crash, however, has not fully been revealed. All racers, however, are in full recovery and will be released from the Puff-Stool County Hospital later today. More on this story as it develops."

Bowser clicked the remote.

"I hate the press.", Bowser commented.

"You hate _everyone_." Birdo pointed out.

Bowser scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"True, but I have a special place of hate in my heart for them. They never take me quote for quote and their pictures always make me look fat!"

" Well, uh, you kinda…well, _are _a little over…" Paratroopa trailed off.

Bowser gave him a glare that tripled the rate of his already frantically beating heart. Just then, the door to the room opened. A small man in huge spectacles and a stark white lab-coat was standing in the doorway.

"E. Gadd!" Luigi shouted.

The old man gave a toothy grin.

" Nice to see you all!"

"Thank goodness you're here!", Peach said, "We have absolutely _no _idea what happened to us. Could you fill us in?"

All the other racers added in comments of agreement. E. Gadd took off his glasses and started to polished them, talking while he did this.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure how it all happened either. Nobody does."

"Hmm? Doesn't anybody have _some _rational explanation of what happened?" Diddy inquired.

E. Gadd chuckled.

"Well, that's just the thing! This accident isn't explainable under the laws of science! The safety-barrier wasn't down, none of you were in a position to be in a crash, and it all happened so fast not even the super-slo-mo security cameras revealed what happened!", E. Gadd explained.

This was an answer none of the racers wanted to here. E. Gadd, not noticing their sullen disposition, scrubbed his glasses harder.

"Confound it! This spot just won't come off!" E. Gadd said in an annoyed tone.

He pulled a strange looking gadget with a fuse sticking out.

"This doohickey should do the trick."

He pointed the fused end at Mario.

"Say, Mario, could you light this here fuse? The thing is fire-powered, not one of my best ideas."

"Sure" Mario answered.

He cupped his hand around the fuse and, instead of the usual fireball, smoke billowed from his hand. Mario frowned, but Bowser burst into laughter.

"What's wrong, Mario? Run out of gas? That seems pretty unlikely to me!" Bowser burst into another heap of laughter at this, something that everyone else ignored.

"Well, the nurse did-a say that my ability to-a make fireballs would-a be affected." Mario stated.

E. Gadd shrugged, pulled a match out of his pocket, and lit the fuse. The devise went into motion, and polished E. Gadd's glasses to a lacquered sheen.

"There we go! Good as new." , E. Gadd then put on his glasses and took another look around the room.

"So you all made it out okay?"

The racers nodded.

"Yeah, we're all fine, thanks", Yoshi said.

"Yeah, but this hospital bites" Bowser Jr. stated bluntly, "Nothing to do here".

E. Gadd was about to reply when the door opened. A tall man with a shady-looking face was standing in the doorway. He had on a trench coat, bowler hat, and, strangely, was wearing bowling shoes.

"Sorry to bother you, but would you by chance happen to be the Mushroom kingdom racers?", the stranger asked in a deep voice.

"Yeah, that's us. Who are you?" Waluigi answered.

The stranger nodded but did not answer. He then motioned them over with his hand.

"Come with me, we need to discuss the accident you all were in.", the stranger said simply, and then started to leave without another word.

The racers followed the man through the corridors of the hospital, unaware that this simple event would spark off a grand adventure.

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Yep! Sequel! I decided that I needed a new project to keep me busy, so I decided to bring back the populat "Kart crash Mystery". Now, I'm going to be tried for time, so it'll be hard to update regularly, so don't despair if it takes awhile to update the fic. On my next update, questions will be answered. Who is this strange man? Why can't Mario produce fire-balls? And what happened during the crash? Review and find out!


	3. Side Effect

**Side Effect**

The racers followed the strange man into one of the hospital offices. As they entered, they noticed that the man was actually a Monty Mole, explaining why he was wearing bowling shoes. The room they had all entered resembled that of something that a sleuth would work in. The mole wheeled around in a swiveling chair and faced the racers, scanning each one of them with his black eyes.

"So…I hope you all had an uneventful recovery", the stranger said.

The racers looked at each other with confused expressions.

"Terrible accident," the mole continued, "It's a miracle none of you were hurt to badly… but still, my superiors feel uneasy about this whole thing…"

"Alright, that's it," Bowser Junior said, annoyed, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Yes, who are you?" Peach asked.

The stranger laughed.

" I'm Monty McMole, investigative forensic detective. I've been sent to question you all about the crash you were all in."

The mole got up and started to slowly pace his office.

"Uh, yes. I think you've already said that," Peach said.

"I have? Well, regardless. I do have a few questions from all of you…But first, if you would be so kind as to leave us, Professor Gadd, this conversation is rather classified."

"No problem, investigator," E. Gadd answered.

The scientist left the room, leaving the group with Mr. McMole. He once again sat down in his chair and motioned them to sit in the chairs that had been prepared for them. The mole took out a pipe and lit it with a match, and then looked back at the racers.

"Now," Monty McMole started, "I'm just going to go strait to business, if you don't mind. I'm not a very talkative guy, so I'm just going to lay a few things out here and we'll get down to business ."

He took out a sheet of paper from one of the drawers under his desk. He took a long drag from his pipe, and began to read it off.

"Mario Mario, Luigi Mario, Peach Toadstool, Daisy Blossom, Toad Toad, Toadette Toad, Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong, Yoshi Yoshisarus, Birdo Yoshisarus, Wario Wario, Waluigi Wario, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Koopa Troopa, Koopa Paratroopa, Bowser Morton Koopa Senior, and Bowser Morton Koopa Junior, on July of the 22nd, you all had been participating in the annual Mushroom Kingdom when at exactly 3:00 P.M., you all were involved in a kart crash of unknown causes, correct?", the mole asked.

The racers nodded.

"I, Monty Dewy McMole, have been sent here to investigate the cause and possible effects of the crash. I am a licensed officer of the law, any confessions made here will be viable by a court of law. You are not under oath and therefore may abstain from answering a question if one does not feel like answering", he paused and took another drag on his pipe, "However, a refusal to answer a question shall be treated with suspicion, and can warrant a background check on the individual. All constitutional rights, with the exception of the second, the right to bear arms, and the fourth, the requirement to have a warrant to search or seize personal property, are presented to you. If any of you object to these conditions, please speak now."

Nobody spoke. The mole continued.

"If any of you has anything to say, does not understand something, or has something to confess, please speak now."

Silence.

"You done?" Toadette asked impatiently.

"Yes, I am," the mole replied with annoyance, " Now, on to business. What do you already know?

The racers briefly talked this over with each other before letting Yoshi answer.

"Well, we were neck-and-neck when we heard this high-pitch laughter, and really that's all we know. Next thing we know we all woke up in the hospital."

The mole raised an eyebrow.

"High-pitched laughter?", the mole asked.

"Uh, yeah. High-pitched laughter. Really creepy high-pitched laughter, too.", Diddy commented.

"I don't know what your saying. There was no high-pitched laughter.", the detective said incredulously.

The racers stared.

"Are you listening? We said there was some really creepy laughter just before we crashed." Bowser Junior said with impatience.

"I'm sorry, but, no there wasn't."

Bowser Junior threw up the hand that wasn't in a sling.

"Is it even possible to get ear-cancer from smoking?", Bowser Junior said at a loss, "We're telling you, we heard laughter!"

"First off, yes you can, but only if it had spread there from cancer of the mouth or lymph nodes," the mole said impatiently, "And two, you crashed in a stadium filled with over 15000 spectators, myself included. We interviewed hundreds of eyewitnesses and no one heard any laughter."

The racers didn't know what to say.

"We did hear laughter!", Yoshi said, annoyed, "All of us did."

The mole shook his head.

" I'm sorry, but if you did, it must have been in your head."

He tried to take another drag from his pipe, but he realized the flame went out. He reached into his pocket and produced an empty matchbook.

"Say, can't you produce fire-balls, Mario?"

Mario rubbed his arm.

"Well, my powers seem-a to have been affected by the crash-a."

Bowser snorted.

"Sure, sure, that seems _so _likely. Stand back, I'll light your stupid cancer stick."

Bowser inhaled deeply, and then exhaled. Instead of fire, a faint smoke emitted from his mouth. Mario scoffed at this.

"_What's-a the matter, Bowser? Run out-a of gas?_" Mario said mockingly.

Bowser held a fist up to Mario.

"Let me give it a try, dad. I've been practicing." Bowser Junior piped up.

He did the same action that his father did, but, like him, only produced a smoky vapor. He frowned and sat back down, looking defeated. McMole, however, watched this spectacle with interest.

"Odd," the detective said, "Very odd. Three people in this room have lost the ability to produce fire, a trait that was unique to all of them."

"But, the doctors just said-" Bowser said, but McMole cut in.

"Who ever heard of a kart injury that stops someone from producing fire from their bodies?", the mole asked.

The mole looked at the other racers.

"What are your talents?"

The other racers looked confused.

"What?", DK asked.

The mole slapped his head.

"Your talents! Your abilities! Things that you can do that are unique to you. What are they?"

The racers looked even more confused.

"Well", Paratroopa began, "I can fly."

The mole looked at him intently.

"Show me."

Paratroopa raised an eyebrow and started to flap his wings. However, he didn't move an inch off the ground. Baby Mario giggled at this, but Paratroopa's brother, Koopa Troopa, looked worried. Paratroopa stopped flapping his wings.

"Hey, what gives? My wings weren't injured in the crash!"

Peach whispered to Daisy.

"This is weird, isn't it?", Peach whispered.

Daisy nodded.

"Yeah, what's this mole trying to get at?"

"What I'm getting at, Ms. Blossom," McMole interrupted, "Is that their has been an unusual side effect of the crash."

The mole leaned back in his chair.

"Based on examples, it has become apparent all of you lost some talent or special ability in the crash."

There was a silence as the racers gave the detective an even greater look of confusion.

"Lost our…talents? Is that even possible?", Toad asked.

The mole sighed.

"I really wouldn't know. Professor Gadd would probably know more on that. You should talk to him."

The mole got out of his chair and headed for the door.

"I have to report this to my superiors. It'd probably be best if you all had a talk with the good professor. I'll call you when I get back."

The mole stopped.

"But before I go, I must warn you. This whole thing is confusing, and I feel that there are powers at work here larger than we know. You all must be careful."

With out another word, the mole left the room. The racers, still sitting in the arranged seats, immediately started to discuss the situation at hand.

"This…is this really happening?", Wario asked.

"If it isn't, this sure is one lucid dream.", Waluigi commented.

"Oi…What a mess-a," sighed Luigi.

There was a silence.

"So, what should we do?", Birdo asked.

"There is-a only one thing we _can _do. We should-a talk to E. Gadd, like-a the detective wanted."

Bowser Junior frowned and shook his head.

"I'm not so sure. That mole seemed pretty shady… We might want to think about this. I don't think we should be doing what this guy says," Junior cautioned.

"It's just Gadd, Junior," Toadette sighed, " I agree, this guy is kinda shady, but we can trust Gadd, right? Stop being paranoid."

Bowser Junior scowled, but shrugged it off.

"Yeah…Your right. I'm just saying we should be careful on this. I think that mole was right. There are powers at work here larger than our own," Bowser Junior said in a grave tone, "I don't know about you, but the thought of something or someone being able to make someone lose their ability and talent seems like a pretty dangerous prospect."

"I agree. But we don't have anywhere else to go on this, so I suggest we visit Gadd and plan our next move after," Yoshi said.

The racers were still uneasy.

"I agree more with Junior," Peach intervened, "We don't know if this mole really is who he says he is."

"What's there gain by lying about being a detective?" Waluigi said.

"Well," Bowser Junior said up starting, "I would think he must have something to gain. Considering that pretending to be an officer of the law is a first class felony, I would think he would have _a lot _to gain, in fact"

"We still don't know that he's not a detective!", DK said, "We have no reason to believe that he's not, so lets not get wound up over nothing! If you ask me, the guy seemed pretty authentic."

Bowser Junior gave DK a disapproving look.

"After reading all of the John Grisham and Patricia Cronwell books I have, I'd disagree with you on that."

Toadette groaned.

"Those are _books, _Junior! This is real life! This isn't CSI, or Sherlock Holmes, this is true to word real life!

"Look-a, calm down!", Mario shouted over the arguing, "We know almost-a no know more than we did before-a! Look, let's-a just go see E. Gadd like-a the detective wanted. We can keep our eye's-a open for anything suspicious, okay?"

The racers paused, and then reluctantly nodded. They exited the office to find E. Gadd doing work on his laptop.

"Well, you all done with your talk with the investigator?"

"Well…Yeah," Diddy mumbled, "But we have a problem."

"A problem, you say?", E. Gadd said, "Well, I'm on a fixed income, but for all of you, I guess I could loan you a few-"

"No, not-a money problems," Luigi cut in.

"Oh?", E. Gadd inquired, "What kinda trouble, then?"

The racers looked at each other with unease.

"You might want to sit down", Koopa Troopa said, "It's a lot to explain."

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Who is this strange mole? Why is everyone so nervous? And what's happening to the racers?…What? You expect me to tell you? Get real. You review, I update, you read, everyone is happy. But rudeness aside, reviews will motivate anyone into writing faster…so do that. Until next time!


	4. So it is Written

Sorry this took so long to write! I'm trying to write an enormous chapter for my "Know the Beasts" Pikmin fic, but it's still hard to make a good +K rated comedy without using suggestive material. Not only that, I'm also co-writing the fic "A Koopa's Story" by notfromearth7, so I'm very preoccupied right now. But I made a commitment to my other fics as well, so here I am!

**So It Is Written**

After Koopa Troopa finished explaining the situation to E. Gadd, the old professor sighed.

"Well," E Gadd said, "This is certainly new to me. I've _never_ heard of anything under the laws of science that is able to cause such drastic effects to the body."

The younger racers heard this and started to panic.

"Come on, old man!" Bowser Junior said worryingly, "You must have heard of this happening before, right?"

The younger racers looked at the old scientist hopefully, but Elvin Gadd shook his head.

"Talents, abilites, things that are unique and are gifted to people," E. Gadd explained, "Are tied to a person's being. They are tied to the mind, to the genetic code, to what makes everyone different and special from every other living person."

E. Gadd sighed again.

"I have heard of such things happening, but they're only caused by genetic mutations, and if that was the case none of you would be standing in front of me as fine and healthy as you are now."

"Please, Professor," Peach asked, "Isn't their anything you can tell us?"

E. Gadd slowly shook his head.

"This…I fear this goes beyond even my knowledge. I cannot help you."

E. Gadd looked sad for a few more moments, but then perked up.

"Unless…"

"What? What is it?" several racers interjected.

The old man gave the racers a toothy grin.

"Meet me at my lab in the Boo Woods. There's someone there who I think can help."

"Really?", Diddy Kong asked hopefully.

"Sure, I think they can. Just meet me there in a few hours by my lab, you know the way, don't you?"

"Sure," Luigi said, "It's-a right next to that spooky mansion with all of the Boos-a."

E. Gadd nodded.

"Yep, that's the one. Come on down after your released, I'll go get ready."

E. Gadd bid them farewell and left the hospital. Once again, the racers were confused.

"I don't really understand," Toad said, "There's someone at a haunted house that can help us?"

"No, the old man said there was someone in his lab _near _the haunted house that can help us," Bowser Junior corrected.

Toad rolled his eyes.

"Wow, big difference," Toad said sarcastically.

"Nothing makes sense," Daisy commented, "But I have a feeling that the professor will have something that can clear things up."

The racers agreed, and each went back to their rooms, waiting to be released.

…

…

…

_Mario…_

Mario opened his eyes.

_Mario…_

Mario looked around confusedly. He wasn't in his room. In fact, he had no idea where he was. The place where he was in was dark…Almost miasmal.

_Mario…_

That voice…Where had he heard it before? It seemed so familiar…yet he felt like he never met the person.

_Mario…A great quest lies before you…_

Mario looked around. He still couldn't see any voice.

_Your life…and the lives of your friends, will be in peril…_

"…Lives…in peril?", Mario questioned, "Is it really that big a deal? I mean, our powers are important, but-"

The eyes flaired.

_More is at stake here than a few fancy parlor tricks!..._

Mario cringed. The eyes slowly returned to normal.

_A dark force is behind your misfortunes… and there will be many more to come if not stopped…_

Mario looked around once again and gasped. He saw two eyes piercing through the darkness.

_A quest befalls you…A test of your abilities…the fate of many are at stake…_

Mario couldn't understand any of this. Yet, he was still transfixed by the two eyes.

_So it is written…that your journey will take you to the heart of a great crisis…_

The eyes grew larger.

_So it is written…that your actions will determine the crossroads of the future…_

The eyes grew even larger.

_So it is written…Mario…Your time is now…_

The eyes seemed to cover him.

_Mario…_

_Mario…_

_Mario._

_Mario!_

MARIO!

…

…

…

Mario woke up. Peach, Luigi, and Yoshi were standing over him.

"Hey, Mario, wake up!", Yoshi motioned, "We've been released! It's time to go see Gadd!"

Mario stood up. He was back in the hospital. He felt dazed…The voice from his dream still echoing through his mind.

"Come on-a, bro!", Luigi insisted, "We've got to go-a before the press get's here!"

Mario nodded groggily and got up.

"Mario…are you okay?", Peach asked worriedly.

Mario raised a hand.

"It was-a nothing…So, uh, we can-a go see the professor?"

Yoshi nodded feverishly.

"Yes! Now come on! Everyone else is waiting!"

Mario nodded and ran off to meet with the others.

…

The racers stepped out he hospital door to meet a sea of flash-bulbs and microphones. Every new station was here, waiting for them to be released. They were instantly barraged with a flurry of questions."

"Was there any complications in your recovery?", one reporter asked.

"Do you know the nature of the crash?", another asked.

"Do any of you think that this crash was related to the crash that happened last month?", a young Koopa reporter asked.

"So much for avoiding the press," Wario whispered to Waluigi.

The racers answered as many questions as they could, but they came so fast it was hard to hear them all. They crowded every racer, but especially Junior.

"Prince Junior, have you had any recovery complications from your last crash effect your current recovery?"

"Prince Junior, do you think this was another plot to attack you?"

Junior was fed up with the press.

"Hey," Junior said impatiently, "Knock it off! No more questions!"

The racers quickly pushed their way out of the crowd of reporters, with them following in hot pursuit. Eventually, as the got farther away, the reporters gave up. Near the entrance of the Boo woods, the racers stopped to catch their breath.

"I…_pant…_hate…_pant_…the press…", Bowser said tiredly.

"Yeah…They're like vultures, making money off of others misfortunes…", Birdo said.

The racers caught their breath and looked around the Boo forest. It looked a forest home to ghosts, which, they all thought, it probably was. They all entered the forest…unaware of strange figure following them from far behind…

…

The racers finally arrived at Gadd's laboratory, and were surprised at what they found. The door was broken in… and there were loose wires everywhere…

"Uh oh…", Baby Mario cooed.

"This can't be good…", Diddy mumbled.

Everyone just stood at the entrance for a few more moments.

"…Well, someone has to go in…", Koopa Troopa sighed.

They talked it over, and eventually decided that DK was the most able, so he entered first. A few tense moments passed before DK's voice called out.

"There's a big pipe in the way!", DK called out, "What should I do?"

"Just smash it or something!", Waluigi yelled back.

There were a series of grunts, but there was no sound of metal being pulverized.

"I can't do it!"

Bowser slapped his face.

"What do you mean! Your like the best one of use here at breaking…oh yeah, I guess that's the ability he lost; his strength."

There was the sound of a punch from inside the lab, and then the sound of DK in pain. Bowser Junior snickered in spite of himself, resulting in him getting smacked in the head by Diddy Kong.

"Stop making fun of my uncle!", Diddy snarled.

Junior stared blankly at him.

"Wooooah! Well, look at that! Monkey-boy grew a spine!", Junior said sarcastically

The two glared at each other, but Peach intervened.

"Stop it, you two! This is no time to fight!"

Diddy immediately complied to command anything an adult asked of him, and Junior respected Peach enough to listen to her. At the same time, DK walked out, cradling a swollen hand. The rest of the group, along with a reluctant DK, entered the front door. The damage was even worse inside the lab, and, just as DK, said, there was a fallen metal pipe blocking the way into the lab.

"Aww man!", Paratroopa exclaimed, "How are we gonna get around _this_?"

"DK, are you _sure _there's no way around this thing?", Toadette asked.

DK nodded.

"Yes, there is absolutely _no _way around-"

"Hey!", Toad called out, "I found this little hole in the wall! I think we can fit through it and get to the other side."

The racers blinked, and then glared at DK, who chuckled sheepishly.

" Hehehe…My bad…", DK mumbled.

The group entered the hole in the wall and shuffled through it.

"…_OWW_! Someone stepped on my tail!", Yoshi yelled.

"I'm sorry, Yoshi, but Wario's squishing me!", Peach yelled back.

"Ahh, just-a like old times, eh guys?", Luigi chuckled.

"Luigi, shut up," Junior responded bluntly.

The group finally made it out of the hole in the wall and looked around the lab. The place was torn to pieces. There were broken beakers, chemicals spilled on the floor, a inventions strewed everywhere. Even Gadd's ghost portraits were gone. The lab was in such a mess that even Luigi had a hard time recognizing it.

"Jeez…", Birdo breathed, "What happened here?"

Mario looked around a few more times, then realized something.

"Professor Gadd…", Mario whispered.

The others widen their eyes in realization.

"Do you…do you think he was here when…", Toadette stuttered and couldn't continue.

Bowser looked sadly at her.

"He said he would be here to meet us…I think it's a pretty safe bet he _was _here when…_this _happened…", Bowser sighed.

The babies were confused as to what was going on, but Baby Mario spotted something in the corner of the room.

"Cawra!", Baby Mario said excitedly.

"Huh? What's-a that, you say?", Mario asked.

"He's a baby Ma-", Toadette began but Baby Mario cut her off.

"Cawra! Cawra!", he said, and pointed to a corner in the room. In the corner was what looked like…

"A security camera!", Diddy cited.

"Yeah! Maybe it was on when…when…_this _happened!", Daisy said excitedly.

"Wow! Nice job, squirt", Junior said to Baby Mario.

Yoshi went over to a computer and tried to turn it on. It sparked and smoked a little, but it came on. Yoshi clicked an icon with a camera on it. A small screen appeared, and a security clip went on to show a shadowy figure destroying Professor Gadd's laboratory. In the back ground, they could see a desperate Gadd trying to shoot it with a laser gun, but missed and hit the camera, ending the transmission. The racers stared at the screen for a few more seconds, letting what they saw soak in.

"So…he _was _here…", Waluigi said grimly.

"Does anyone know who that guy was?", DK questioned.

Nobody spoke. The racers looked around a little more, and then left the lab with more questions gained than answered…

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What happened? Who did that to E. Gadd's lab? Was it the mysterious figure following them? Was it someone else? And still, who caused the crash that started all these questions?……No, I will not tell you in this chapter, but maybe, _maybe _I'll tell you in the next one…stay tuned!


	5. A Rocky Start

**A Rocky Start**

The racers were just about to leave through the hole in the wall when Wario's voice called out.

"Hey! Wait! I think I found something!"

The racers quickly ran over to where Wario was standing, and there was. One of the floor tiles was lifted out, and where its imprint was, was a small marble square. On it, the symbol of a star was scrawled on it. Under it, there was a message in strange letters.

The seer marks the gate…

There was more, but it was in a strange language that none of the recognized.

"A Seer…what could that mean?", Peach asked.

"I have no frigging clue," Bowser said.

"Leave it to the old man to build his lab on some freaky monolith," Junior commented, " Jeez, even the words sound old…Like someone ancient wrote it."

"Yeah…", Diddy whispered in awe.

Toadette just rolled her eyes.

"Whatever it is, I doubt that it will help," Toadette commented.

"Come on, sis," Toad said, "This is kinda cool! Like finding some old piece of history."

"We're not looking for history!", Toadette said impatiently, "We're looking for what happened in the present!"

"She's right," Birdo sighed, "Looks like another dead end…"

After a few more minutes of fruitless search, the group left the lab. The racers were walking, making there way out of the Boo Woods, when Baby Luigi saw a shadow quickly pass by behind them. Baby Luigi yanked on Luigi's pant sleeve.

"Uncle Wuigi! Dato!", Baby Luigi said urgently.

"That's-a nice…", Luigi said, not really paying attention.

A few minutes later, A figure ran by behind them again, and this both Baby Luigi and Baby Mario saw it.

"Dato! Dato!", both babies cried out.

"I wonder what that means," Daisy said.

A few minutes later, the figure tired to run across the path from behind them again. Only this time, the figure tripped. The racers spun around. The figure was a young Koopa-girl who was holding a camera and notepad, symbols of a journalist. The racers then realized that she was one of the reporters from the press meeting at the hospital. The koopa girl groaned and picked herself up. She looked at the stunned racers and smiled sheepishly.

"Uh, hello. I'm Kelly K. Koopa, Mushroom Kingdom News, we met at the press conference at the-"

"We-a know who you are," Mario said.

The girl nodded in acknowledgment, and saw that her appearance was being met with suspicion.

"Why are you following us around?", Daisy asked sternly.

"Well…", the young Koopa girl replied, "After the big incident at the hospital, I thought it would be a good idea to trail you guys."

"Well, you can't just follow people around without their-", Bowser began.

"-Incident at the hospital?", Toad cut in.

The koopa girl nodded.

"Yeah, while you were all gone and the press was chasing after you, someone attacked the hospital", Kelly Koopa said casually, then looked at the astonished faces of the racers with amusement.

"The hospital was attacked?!," Yoshi said in disbelief.

The Koopa-girl nodded.

"Yep…To bad, too, nobody was even around to see who did it…", the Koopa-girl said casually, "Well…I don't want to keep you up to much longer… so, see ya for now."

The Koopa-girl walked away. Paratroopa shook his head.

"Man, that girl is crazy, right bro?…Bro?"

Koopa Troopa looked dreamily at the Koopa-girl walking away.

"Wow…she's pretty…"

"Ah, great, we've lost him!", Toadette said sarcastically.

Luigi turned to Mario.

"Bro, we've-a got to go to the hospital-a and check-a this out!", Luigi insisted.

"Yeah, lets-a hurry!", Mario said.

The racers then ran to back to the hospital as fast as they could. When they finally arrived, the hospital was roped off with yellow tape and was surrounded by police officers. As the racers approached the hospital, they were quickly blocked by a group of police.

"I'm sorry, but this is a restricted area," the policeman said with an official voice.

The racers huddled up.

"Great! Now what?", Birdo whispered, "How the heck are we gonna get in?"

"Relax," Junior soothed, "I got his covered."

"How?", Waluigi questioned.

Junior smirked and turned back to the Policeman.

"Uh, yeah, I'm _Prince _Bowser Koopa Junior, so, uh, I'm thinking that we're gonna be going in there," Junior said with a superior tone.

The other racers were impressed by Junior's manipulating skills. The policeman, however, was not.

"Yeah, in the Koopa Kingdom, but this is the Mushroom Kingdom, squirt, and your nothing more than a civilian."

Junior snarled and motioned for the other racers to huddle up.

"Alright… man, that always works!", Junior said in disbelief.

"Yeah, well, come on, don't you have any other ideas?", Daisy asked.

The others looked at Junior eagerly, who looked very uncomfortable.

"Hehe…You know, for once in my life I have absolutely no plan."

The others groaned.

"That's what you lost, then," Toadette said bluntly, "Does anyone else have any bright ideas?"

There was a moment of silence before a familiar voice called out to them.

"Hey! Glad to see you all!"

The racers turned to see Monty McMole standing behind the yellow tape.

"Mr. McMole-" Daisy stuttered.

McMole raised a hand.

"Don't worry, I got you all checked out, you can all come in."

The racers didn't need to be told a second time. They quickly jumped the yellow tape and entered the hospital. They followed the detective through the halls, which were just as trashed as Gadd's laboratory.

"Yeah," McMole inquired, "No witness, security camera's off, no fingerprints, no hair, not even any footprints. This is what we in the detective field call a crook who is, how can I put this, either a ghost or a frigging magician, because I have never seen such a clean-cut crime."

"Wow, that's comforting," Junior muttered.

"So, you have no idea how this happened? Or even any idea why someone would do this?" Peach asked.

The mole shook his head.

"No and no. But, we did find a little something interesting while checking out the most damaged room."

The racers looked at each other.

"Really? What?", Birdo asked.

The mole shook his head again.

"Weird thing. We were tearing down a broken wall panel when we found this weird stone tablet built right into the wall."

The racers stopped in their tracks. The mole quickly turned around and gave them a questioning look.

"A tablet?", Yoshi stuttered.

"Well…yeah."

"Did this tablet have a star on it and a bunch of really weird writing on it?", Paratroopa asked.

The investigator looked surprise.

"Yes! How did you know?"

The racers looked at each other nervously and then nodded.

"Detective, we found the exact same thing in Professor Gadd's office after it was attacked."

The detective nearly jumped out of his bowler shoes.

"Professor Gadd's laboratory was attacked?!", McMole cried out.

"Uh, yeah," Diddy Kong said, " And professor Gadd is missing to…Didn't you already know this? I mean, you _are _the police."

"No! I had no idea! Are you saying that these two crimes are connected?"

"Well," Junior said, "Considering that both places were trashed, both places in the same day, and both places turning up a weird star-studded stone tablet, I'd say that's a pretty safe bet."

The detective ignored the young koopa's sarcastic comment and went on questioning.

"When did this happen?", the detective asked after a long pause.

"Today, probably just before we were released", DK said.

"Just after…alright, do you have any idea who would do this?"

"No," Luigi answered.

McMole pinched the skin between his eyes.

"What about this tablet?"

"Well," Birdo began, "It had a star shape on it and the words 'The seer marks the gate'."

The mole looked up.

"Are you sure? That's not what the tablet found here says."

The racers looked at him questionably.

"Really?", Paratroopa asked, "Then what _does_ it say?"

The mole motioned them to follow him. They arrived at one of the rooms, probably the most wrecked one.

"Here it is…", McMole pointed out.

The tablet was built into the wall, right next to the door. Again, it had a star, yet, the star was not the same as the one in Gadd's laboratory. And then the writing…

The Star rests where the Races meet…

"The races meet? What does that mean?", Toad asked.

"The Kart races!", Yoshi shouted out.

"Hey, yeah!", Birdo agreed.

Peach shook her head.

"This tablet it at least a thousand years old, how could it?", Peach voiced.

"Well, what else could it be?", Daisy pointed out.

"What is this star, anyway?", Koopa Troopa cut in, "There are _thousands _of stars in the mushroom kingdom, what so special about this one?"

"Who knows, and who cares," Toadette said, "We're supposed to be looking for Professor Gadd, not some star that's mentioned in a thousand year old tablet built into the wall of a _hospital._ For all we know, this could have been made by some patient who was bored and decided to carve this into the wall as a joke."

McMole shook his head.

"That's what I thought, too. But we just got back the results from the carbon dating, and it says this tablet is at least 1023 years old."

Toadette snorted.

"This hospital was built 20 years ago, how the heck did a stone tablet made from the last millennium get built into it with no one noticing?"

A few racers nodded in agreement, to which McMole just shrugged.

"I have absolutely no idea. But whatever it is, or how it got here, it obvious that the criminal who attacked the hospital _and _kidnapped the good professor was looking for these stone tablets. Not only that, this guy must have been a frigging super freak."

"Why?", Bowser asked.

"Because this guy broke in while the quarantine protocol was activated, and he just tore down the emergency metal hatches like it was nothing!"

The racers where shocked. Last month, during the last big mystery, Latiku had activated the quarantine protocol, and the metal hatches that locked them in the hospital were so strong that not even someone as strong as DK or Bowser could put a dent in the hatches. How could one person destroy them?

"Say," McMole said, waking them out of their shocked state, "Did any of you happen to see this fellow at the lab?"

"Well, no-a, but we did see a short security camera entry showing a blurry image-a of the person destroying Gadd's laboratory-a," Mario explained.

"Well, don't just stand there! What did he look like, how big was he? Any distinguishing features?"

The racers looked at each other, then back to the detective.

"Well, as we said, the image was kinda blurry. We didn't see very much of him…but, he didn't look very big… Actually, he was very small in comparison to the damage he did to the laboratory," DK explained.

The detective thought this over, then looked back up at the racers.

"Well, at least that narrows it down… I'd better go see that footage for myself, though, I might be able to get a clearer picture of what happened."

Without another word, the mole left, leaving the racers thinking about these strange tablets, and how they tied into all of this.

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What are these strange tablets? Who was this person who is so small yet so powerful? Is he the one who caused the crash? Is he someone else? Who is this Koopa-girl who has been following them? And still, what will all of these questions lead up to? Don't ask, cause I won't tell yet. The chapters will reveal everything in good time…


	6. Deep Questions

**Deep Questions**

The racers were sitting in the lobby (which ironically was the only room in the entire hospital that was left untouched during the attack) and were talking about the strange set of events that surrounded them. Yoshi sighed.

"Great…_Another _dead end….Man, what's the use? Look at all the work we've done, and still, we're no better off then when we started…"

"Don't say that, Yoshi!", Peach encouraged, "We've found a lot of information!"

"Yeah, like what?", Yoshi asked sadly.

"Well…", Peach began.

"We have some suspects," DK suggested.

"Yes! That's right! We have an entire list of suspects!", Peach said.

"I guess…", Yoshi said with a little more confidence, "By the way, we should lay down all the suspects we have," he continued.

"Hey, good idea, lizard," Bowser said.

"Alright," Peach began, "I think that it would be safe to add all of the suspects from the previous incident, right?"

Most of the racers nodded.

"Okay, then that means that Cackletta, Fawful, and Latiku are all possible suspects. Now, for the current suspects, we have Mr. McMole, Kelly K. Koopa, and…", Peach said, not being able to think of another suspect.

"Gadd", Waluigi said.

Many of the racers looked at him with shock.

"We have to consider every single angle that the crime could have taken place," Waluigi explained.

"Yeah, well, there's a little problem with those last three suspects," Junior spoke up.

"Really? What is it?", Birdo asked.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that _none of them even have a motive!_" Junior shouted.

The racers were taken aback, and then there was a grim silence.

"I mean, face it. The bowling shoed-mole has no motive, the crazy Koopa girl has no motive, and the old man _certainly _has no motive!", Junior said bluntly.

"He does have a point," Yoshi sighed.

"Well-a, we-a can't rule out-a the possibility of a hidden motive-a," Mario said.

"Hey, yeah-a!", Luigi agreed.

"Hmm, I guess," Junior said reproachfully, "But that's a pretty big 'if'."

"Hidden motive?" Diddy asked.

"A hidden motive", Peach explained, "is a motive that isn't obvious and is down on the personal level, like grudges or revenge. Latiku's grudge against Junior last month, for example, was a hidden motive, which is why we never suspected him until he revealed himself."

"Oh, I get it!", Diddy nodded.

"Say, what about these tablets?", Wario said suddenly.

The racers nodded. They realized they had gotten off topic.

"Yeah, what is it about them?", Toad asked, "They always show up in the weirdest places…"

"Dude, the tablets _themselves _are weird," Junior said.

"Yeah, and what's with the writing on them? The seer marks the gate…The Star rests where the races meet… What do you make of it?", Birdo asked.

"Uh, guys, I think we're getting off subject," Toadette said, "We still don't have any real proof that these tablets tie into this case."

"No," Junior said impatiently, "Because it's quite obvious that the guy who attacked the old man's lab and the hospital was after these tablets, so they _do _tie into this case."

Toadette huffed and remained silent.

"That still doesn't answer just what these tablets are…", Diddy said.

"Say, you think these tablets are worth a lot of money?", Wario asked.

The question was met with glares by the other racers.

"Typical! We're in the middle of an important situation and all you can think about is money!", Daisy said angrily.

Wario looked confused.

"Huh? No! I don't mean like that, I just saying that maybe this guys is hunting these tablets so he can sell them."

"Oh…Uh, well, I suppose that's possible…", Daisy mumbled apologetically.

"Man, this just doesn't end," Paratroopa commented, "Does it bro?…Bro?"

Koopa Troopa was staring dreamily off into space, not paying attention to his brother or anyone else. Paratroopa snapped his fingers in front of his brother, waking him out of his daze.

"Huh? What? Uh, sorry bro, could you repeat that? I wasn't paying attention…", Koopa Troopa said.

Paratroopa grinned slyly.

"You were thinking about that cute koopa-girl, weren't you?"

Koopa Troopa blushed a deep red.

"I, uh, well…I, uh…", Koopa Troopa mumbled hopelessly. His friends, much to the relief of Koopa Troopa, were so engaged in debate that they didn't notice.

"Look, I understand, bro…but right now, you need to get your head in the game, kay?", Paratroopa said paternally.

"Yeah, I guess," Koopa Troopa said.

Suddenly, the door to the lobby was blasted open by a tidal wave of reporters, all of whom rushed over to the racers, bombarding them with questions, most of which were aimed at either Mario, Peach, or Bowser.

"Mr. Mario, what is your take on the discovery of these strange tablets?"

_So, it's already leaked out,_ Mario thought. Mario looked at the other racers to see them being asked similar questions.

"Mr. Kong, how do you and your nephew respond to the finding of Professor Gadd's Laboratory being attacked?"

DK and Diddy Kong shifted uncomfortably, clearly stressed about the on look of reporters awaiting their response.

"Uh," DK stammered, "We are surprised that this attack has taken place for seemingly no reason."

There was a quick jotting down of notes before the reporters switched 'targets'.

"Mr. Troopa, how are you and your brother taking the allegations of the foul play connecting these tablets to the recent accident?"

Koopa Troopa was about to respond when he noticed that the reporter who asked the question was no other than Kelly Koopa. Koopa Troopa blushed slightly, causing Kelly blush slightly as well. The other reporters sensed that they wouldn't get any information out of the Koopa and quickly turned to Wario.

"Mr. Wario, is it true that you and the other racers are volunteering to help the investigation?"

Wario gulped and thought about a good answer to the question.

"Yes, we are trying to help along this investigation in hopes of solving the mystery surrounding our recent Kart accident."

The press seemed to stop listening to him after he said 'yes', and instantaneously moved on to Bowser.

"King Bowser, do you have any theories on the identity of the attacker from the security camera, or the ancient grave found near the hospital?"

Bowser was about to answer, but then caught himself.

"Ancient grave?", Bowser asked, hopelessly confused.

The press responded to this answer with a renewed barrage or questions. The racers quickly pushed past the crowd of reporters and headed off to find the detective. They found him near the hospital exit, giving orders to a team of scientists. McMole noticed the racers and motioned them over.

"Guys, we've just made an astounding discovery!", McMole said excitedly, "As we were searching the hospital grounds for evidence, we came across a hidden grove in the nearby forest, and in it we found-"

"A grave", Daisy said.

McMole was shocked and slowly nodded his head.

"How did you know that?"

"The press-a told us," Luigi said.

McMole scowled.

"We just found it not 3 minutes ago, and already the press know?"

The mole muttered for a few more moments and then turned back to the racers.

"So, I suppose you all want to see it?"

The racers nodded eagerly. The Mole then made a dismissive gesture to the scientists, who quickly scattered, and then motioned the racers to follow him. He led them out of the hospital into the surrounding forest. The trees were strewn with dew left over from the morning, which seemed to sparkled tiny pockets of light in the bushes, creating a beautiful light display that many of the racers found beautiful. Finally, McMole stopped in front of a small, moss covered rock formation. McMole lifted one of the rocks to reveal a small cavern, just big enough for one to squeeze into. The racers quickly entered. The first thing the racers noticed was the shape of the grotto. It was square, almost as if it had been a room at one time. The grotto was filled with scientists, studying and taking precise data on the contents of the area. But the most noticeable and dominating object in the room, was the ancient grave. The headstone wasn't like the typical door-shaped marker that one would see in an average cemetery. It was a square column, and was so big that it almost touched the ceiling. It was adorned with symbols, writing, and, most noticeably, stars.

"Amazing, isn't it?", McMole said, snapping the racers out of their awestruck daze.

"Uh, yeah," Toad answered.

McMole nodded and approached the gravestone for a better look.

"This form of gravestone is rare," McMole said, "It was mostly used by the advanced, ancient civilizations that inhabited the mushroom kingdom in years past…Judging by the preserved eggshells we've found, we're almost certain they were the Yoshis… "

He paused, and then turned to the racers.

"Gravestones this large and decorated were typically only used for royalty or great heros. This find could turn out to be very archeologically important."

The racers looked at the stone with awe, but Toadette was unconvinced.

"It's very interesting, detective, but how does it tie into the case?"

McMole nodded.

"Well, after we did a carbon dating test on the gravestone, we found out that it is only a few weeks older than the tablets."

Toadette looked back at the tomb, then back to McMole.

"Really?…Say, by the way, do you know who this guy is?"

"Hey!", one of the scientists near the stone shouted out, "Detective, come here! We found something!"

The detective and the racers quickly ran over to where the scientist was.

"Look at this, it's about the person who's buried here…", the scientist said.

The racers leaned closer, and observed the writing in the lamp light.

…

Here lies Yoshi 'the Spirited', one of the brave warriors who had been given the power of the stars.

Born Wednesday, March 8th, 969 A.D.

Died Sunday, July 30th, 985 A.D. -"Bloody Sunday"

'The spirit of all, connect as one, unified by the desire for peace'- Yoshi 'the Spirited'

'If I am ever needed, follow the stars…'- Unknown

…

Above the writing, carved in stone by some artistic hand, was the portrait of a Yoshi.

"Wow…I wonder who this guy was in life…", Toad said in awe.

"Who ever he was," the scientist standing over them said, "He was obviously held in high regard to have a royal burial."

The scientist sighed.

"It's a shame really…"

"Why is that?", Peach asked.

"The date… all history in the mushroom kingdom from 700-1050 A.D. is a complete mystery. We have no way of knowing more about his life."

The racers looked sadly back at the grave stone.

"…Hey, wait a minute!", Yoshi cried out, "He has the same birthday as me!"

The racers looked at him.

"Really?", Junior asked.

"Yeah!", Yoshi said, excited at the discovery, "March 8th, same as me…Hey…It says here he was 16 when he died…"

"So?", Bowser asked.

"_I'm _16", Yoshi informed them.

The racers were surprised.

"Wow…that's some coincidence," Paratroopa said, "Same birthday, same age… Look, even the portrait looks like you, Yoshi."

"Yes," McMole said, "He very well may have been your ancestor, Yoshi."

There was a loud explosion near the end of the grotto, and the racers quickly looked over to see that the wall at the end had been blasted away. Inside, was a towering statue of a Yoshi.

"You idiots!!! You wanna bring the whole place down?!", McMole yelled at the cowering scientists.

McMole continued to yell while the racers got a closer look at the hidden room. The room was filled with fantastic paintings and sculptures, many with colors and textures so vibrant that it was almost as if they had just been painted. Many of the paintings in the room showed forest, castle, and village backdrops. However, one central feature in every piece of art in the room was a Yoshi. The same Yoshi from the engraving in the tombstone. The paintings showed much more physical detail of the Yoshi than the inscription. Most of the paintings depicted the Yoshi in full plated armor that was richly decorated with symbols and jewelry. The Yoshi's face had a cheerful innocence to it, with a large nose and large, ovular eye's found in most Yoshi's. Yet, there was a glint in the Yoshi's eye, something so obvious that even the artist who painted the pictures was able to capture it. It was the look that their Yoshi had always had when he was happy, the look that he gave when ever he saw his friends. The towering statue in the middle of the room showed the Yoshi in a heroic pose, and on the pedestal read the words:

Yoshi 'the Spirted'

A few moments after reading this, the racers were suddenly shocked back into reality by the blaring sound of a nearby explosion, and the sounds of distant screams…

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What is going on? What is the ancient tomb? Why does this 'Yoshi the Spirited' seem so much like the Yoshi that you and I know and love? How does this connect with the crash? What are these strange explosions? And still, who caused the Kart crash? Stay tuned…


End file.
